Land and Sea Travel

On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government implemented the
full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The
proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United
States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport,
passport card, or WHTI-compliant
document.

U.S. Passport and WHTI Compliant Documents:

U.S. Passport: U.S. citizens
may present a valid U.S. passport when traveling via air,
land or sea between the U.S. and the aforementioned Western
Hemisphere countries.The
Passport Card: Passport card applications are
currently being accepted in anticipation of land border
travel document requirements. Based on current projections,
we expect the passport card to be in full production beginning
in July 2008. We will provide additional updates as available.
Once in production, the passport card it will only be valid
for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico,
the Caribbean region, and Bermuda.

WHTI-Compliant Travel Documents
for U.S. citizen travel via land or sea, as of January 31,
2008:
* Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, or FAST)
* State Issued Enhanced Driver’s License (when available)
* Enhanced Tribal Cards (when available)
* U.S. Military Identification with Military Travel Orders
* U.S. Merchant Mariner Document when traveling in conjunction with official maritime business
* Native American Tribal Photo Identification Card
* Form I-872 American Indian Card
For further information see U.S.
Customs and Border protection.

About WHTI
The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is a result of
the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of
2004 (IRTPA), requiring all travelers to present a passport
or other document that denotes identity and citizenship
when entering the U.S.
The goal of the initiative is to strengthen U.S. border
security while facilitating entry for U.S. citizens and
legitimate foreign visitors by providing standardized documentation
that enables the Department
of Homeland Security to quickly and reliably identify
a traveler.

Passport Cards

The passport card facilitates entry and
expedites document processing at U.S. land and sea ports-of-entry
when arriving from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and Bermuda.
The card may not be used to travel by air. Otherwise, it
carries the rights and privileges of the U.S. passport book
and is adjudicated to the exact same standards.

The Department of State is issuing this
passport card in response to the needs of border resident
communities for a less expensive and more portable alternative
to the traditional passport book. The card has the same
period of validity as a passport book: 10 years for an adult,
five for children 15 and younger. Adults who already have
a fully valid passport book may apply for the card as a
passport renewal and pay only $20. First-time applicants
pay $45 for adult cards and $35 for children.

To facilitate the frequent travel of U.S.
citizens living in border communities and to meet DHS’s
operational needs at land borders, the passport card contains
a vicinity-read radio frequency identification (RFID) chip.
This chip points to a stored record in secure government
databases. There is no personal information written to the
RFID chip itself.